Abstract: | Copolymerization of ethylene or propylene and norbornene (NB) was carried out with stereospecific zirconocene catalysts rac‐ethylenebis(indenyl)zirconium dichloride, rac‐dimethylsilylenebis(indenyl)zirconium dichloride ( 2 ), rac‐dimethylsilylenebis(2‐methylindenyl)zirconium dichloride, and diphenylmethylene(cyclopentadienyl)(9‐fluorenyl)zirconium dichloride combined with cocatalysts at 40 °C. Temperature‐rising elution fractionation of the copolymers was carried out with cross‐fractionation chromatography with o‐dichlorobenzene as a solvent, and a broad distribution of the copolymer composition was detected. The fraction eluted at lower temperature contained higher NB. The effect of the polymerization time was examined in the ethylene–NB copolymerization with catalyst 2 , and the higher‐temperature elution fraction increased with increasing polymerization time. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 441–448, 2003 |